Ijevan

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  VardanGrigoryanVardanGrigoryan

  Ijevan (Armenian: Իջևան; also Romanized as Idzhevan and Idjevan; formerly, Istibulagh, K’arvansara, Karavan Savan, K’aravansaray, Karavansarai, and K’ervansera) is a city in Armenia and the capital of Tavush region. It is located in the northern part of the region, on the foot of the Ijevan ridge and Nal'teket ridge on both banks of Aghstev River. The city's current name, Ijevan, and its former name Karavansarai (meaning caravanserai), both mean "inn" in Armenian and Persian, respectively.[2] The city's population was 15 620 in 2008[3] making it the most populated city in the area. It is 142 km from Yerevan. The mayor of the city is Varujan Nersisyan who runs Ijevan alongside a fifteen member counsil.[4] The Yerevan to Kazakh highway passes through the city. It is also a stopping place on an important E-W road and also, since 1870, of the railroad. In the place called Hamam-Jala on the bank of the Aghstev are remains of a medieval caravansaray. The entrance to the town is marked by the massive wine-making factory marked with "Ijevan" on top of its tower.[5] The city has its own local television and newspapers.[6] Since 1994, a branch of Yerevan State University is located in the city with approximately 700 students studying in applied mathematics, physics, Armenian language and literature, history, pedagogy and psychology.[7] On the N side of the main road at the W end of town (cannon outside) is a small historical/ethnographic museum reopened in 1999, with a diorama commemorating the entry of the Red Army in 1920. Ijevan has a large rug factory, machinery plants, and large concrete and carpet-weaving factories. There is a 200-bed high-rise hotel built in 1969 on the N side of the main road. Across from the shuka (meaning market in Armenian) people can cross the bridge over the river and quickly reach the new church financed by a Boston Armenian. In the SW part of town is a S. Hovhannes church. Chamber tombs near the city hospital and a late bronze age cemetery on the left bank of river attest to the early occupation of the site.

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